Breakdown Day Notes

The Caps dragged themselves into KCI this afternoon for one last team meeting. They said their goodbyes, got a few autographs from Alex Ovechkin and cleaned out their locker stalls. It was kind of somber considering how abruptly their season ended last night. But a lot of news came out of today. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits.

*Bruce Boudreau recently signed a multi-year extension that will keep him as coach for a "long time", he said. He'll be house hunting in Maryland soon.

*Olie Kolzig came and went before most of the other players even arrived. He also skipped the mandatory team meeting. That doesn't seem to bode well for his future here. Kolzig told a team spokesman that he "just needed some time".

*General Manager George McPhee said he plans to extend a qualifying offer to defenseman Steve Eminger, despite the fact that Eminger played so sparingly. Eminger said he would he open to returning, but would obviously like more playing time.

*McPhee acknowledged that defenseman Brian Pothier's career could be in jeopardy. Pothier has been out since January with a concussion.

*McPhee also acknowledged that the team is very "concerned" about captain Chris Clark's groin injury, which improved but never was good enough for him to return.

*Boudreau said that defenseman Shaone Morrisonn played the past two weeks with broken jaw, which made it tough for him to eat. He also said Mike Green was hampered with hip pointer (suffered in Game 6) and a foot injury last game, and that Boyd Gordon had a torn hamstring in the playoffs.

Boudreau also said Ovechkin was suffering from a nagging injury, which is why he didn't practice for the last month of the regular season. Everyone suspected that he was hurting a bit, but since he didn't miss any time or lose any effectiveness, it never became much of an issue. I asked Ovechkin if it was his groin, he said "no". He also refused to say what exactly was bothering him.

*Ovechkin's injury, though, can't be too serious if he's considering playing in the World Championships.

*Michael Nylander (shoulder surgery) said he was aiming to return next round. Oh well.

*McPhee was hesitant to address the future of the deadline additions (Fedorov, Huet and Cooke) until he conducts exit interviews with the players this week.

*McPhee said the future assistant coaches - Jay Leach and Dean Evason - has not been determined.